


Truth

by ElvieMarx (KeepGuessing)



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Action/Adventure, Crime Fighting, Dubious Ethics, F/M, Gen, Hurt Loki (Marvel), Jotunn Loki (Marvel), Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Multi, Mutant Powers, Mutant Reader, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Other, POV Loki (Marvel), Partners in Crime, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:33:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22943344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeepGuessing/pseuds/ElvieMarx
Summary: He ran away from it. The burning, blinding, light crept into the corners of his dreams every night now. He had learned to expect it and learned to change his dreams before they became engulfed by it. In it. His dreams had been warded and sealed tight from the time his mother taught him how to use his seiðr for his own protection. His powers had only ever grown since then, so what unknown force would even dare approach his mind? The light was suddenly right in front of him, as if he was running towards it the whole time.Frigga would have known.*Rating will probably go up in later chapters*
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Original Character(s), Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s), Loki (Marvel)/Original Male Character(s), Loki (Marvel)/Reader
Comments: 9
Kudos: 23





	1. Paperwork

**Author's Note:**

> Getting back into writing for self-indulgent reasons. Please comment on what you think is going to happen, I've got a couple ideas in mind. Also tag recommendations? Happy reading, we're ignoring all the horrible decisions of Infinity War and Endgame! It never happened! Nobody can tell me otherwise!

_He ran away from it. The burning, blinding, light crept into the corners of his dreams every night now. He had learned to expect it and learned to change his dreams before they became engulfed by it. In it. His dreams had been warded and sealed tight from the time his mother taught him how to use his seiðr for his own protection. His powers had only ever grown since then, so what unknown force would even dare approach his mind? The light was suddenly right in front of him, as if he was running towards it the whole time._

_Frigga would have known._

Loki hissed as if he had been burned and he shot up, now wide awake from his slumber. He'd like to say that waking up covered in cold sweat and bitter heat in the pit of his chest wasn't normal for him. Honestly he would. Loki shook the rest of the fading dream along with his grief out of his hair as he begrudgingly rolled out his unnecessarily large Midgardian bed, sun far too high in the sky to justify going back to sleep. 

As much as he griped in the past over Midgardian creations, this realm really did have a few gems. Loki was determined to try and have them all: aromatic spices from across the globe, opulent tapestries, dusty tomes filled with a lifespan's worth of art and history. His newly-renovated condo was bordering on the side of eclectic with the mishmash of collections he sustained. Despite the lack of a blood tie, Loki truly was his father's son. Odin's treasure room could be seen in corners of the house, in the way Loki displayed the finer pieces. His drive to control and conquer the little patch of planet he was on only rivaled the Allfather himself. He wanted nothing more than to _lead_.

And that’s what he planned on doing with his almost self-imposed exile. Despite playing a major role in their salvation, the citizens of Asgard – what little was left of them – had taken to turning up their noses at him once all his trickery and mischief was laid bare. They already had to deal with the stress of losing a home and settling into a foreign makeshift settlement in Norway, they didn’t warm to the idea of having their heads on a swivel for the wayward prince again. So, instead of dealing with all the long debates and formalities of exile, Loki made it easier for everyone and left with only a single note left behind for his brother. Hopping continents should keep them happy; he didn’t fancy hopping planets after the last mishap on Sakaar. He had planned on ending up in one of the many grimy but profitable criminal underbellies of one of the big players. USA, China, even Delhi would’ve been nice. But he ended up in Canada.

_Canada_.

_Nice_ is what he got. Even the criminals said “sorry” when they brushed him in passing. He’d have left if extended travel in Midgard didn’t sap him for a week. After landing in a dark dense forest, he walked until he found a city big enough to travel out of the country. But he happened to find just what he was looking for: Toronto. A vibrant and bustling city whose enchantments were only thinly veiling the rampant corruption and illicit goods scene. Aristocrats and foreign powers controlled access to food, shelter, and education and he soon came to realize it was a perfect mix of deception and charm. So he settled down like a parasite would an unsuspecting host. A bribe here, a threat there, and he quickly became be the most lucrative import/export business in the country. He commanded a network of hustlers, spies, and accountants, having even more either owing him or in his pocket. He had created a shadowy throne for himself, he was nothing if not adaptable.

Loki materialized in his office on the upper level of one of his warehouses. He would drive if the traffic on the lake shore wasn’t a nightmare every time, teleportation in this case was worth the effort. He may have turned a couple of drivers into frogs the first time he tried. Donned in his now-signature all black suit, Loki got to work on the latest batch of shipments coming in from New York. He begrudgingly kept his former contacts from his previous invasion of the planet, hoping the fear he instilled in the past would hold up even if he wasn’t quite the same person who instilled it.

He simply must tell his sister about a new torture to add in Helheim: paperwork. He was halfway through his regular stack of legal and illegal shipments when two firm knocks on his door interrupted him. Humming his approval, Dex, one of his main henchmen walked in with a terrified looking dock worker. The dock worker nervously clutched his hat as Dex unceremoniously dragged him into the lush carpeted room that served as Loki’s office. Loki raised an eyebrow and set down the latest file; Dex didn’t bother him unless it directly interfered with business. A tablet was placed on his desk, a paused video of his compound’s security footage on the screen.

“Dex, and you are…?”

“Miller sir. I work the docks o-overnight,” he stuttered out. He made a move to step behind Dex that was immediately thwarted by the other man’s wide frame. Dex was built like a refrigerator that actually had braincells and it came in handy. He glared down Miller until he continued. “We got a container that was brought in local, it was set to ship out this morning. One of the latches kept on rattling like there was something big inside so we…opened it up.” Before Loki could snap his neck for snooping through his stocks, the man continued.

“It was a bunch of smoke, too thick to see anything through it, so Jeb and a rookie went to take a look inside and-“ Miller gagged, unable to finish.

“Don’t you dare stain my carpet,” Loki hissed, absently playing the video on Dex’s tablet. Miller didn’t need to finish his story. The security footage clearly showed a dark cloudy mass burst out of the shipping container and rush through the rows lining the docks. Swiping past the video, Dex had included pictures of the inside of the crate. It was lined with a thick plexiglass-looking material and clearly marked as a biohazard on all sides. What made Loki stand was the blood.

And the bits.

The two workers who had entered the crate were beyond recognition. Their bodies were torn to bits so small and splattered it looked like they had been fed through a woodchipper. And it had all happened within a matter of seconds.

“We cornered it in the west block, it’s some Pokemon looking shit I’m telling you.” Dex motioned towards the door and two burly men rolled in what looked like a giant fish tank, sealed on all sides hastily as if they expected whatever was inside to creep out from any crevice it found. Inside was a dark swirling mass, almost like a storm cloud that had been trapped in a bottle, but definitely in a more weakened state than what Loki saw on the security footage. The corners seemed almost misty and he could faintly make out a denser mass on the floor of the box.

It was vaguely humanoid.

“Dex, get the bodies sorted. Everyone else, out.” When everyone stalled for a moment, Loki grew impatient.

“NOW.”


	2. Peeps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now, drugs and arms? Jewels and art? The occasional exotic pet? These were his regulars. Keeping the city in check while giving the people what they want, within reason. Humans? Mutants, experiments, aliens? He refused; he was even repulsed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That "the box" song was stuck in my head when I wrote this. No regrets. Please comment and fave, love ya to bits.

Loki stepped around his desk, paperwork forgotten as he approached the makeshift prison Dex had presented him with. He pulled up a chair and sat down to examine the smoke and mist trapped inside, it had stopped swirling. Almost completely still and settling in the lower half of the box, Loki could faintly make out the outline of a body laying on the floor almost unmoving. It weakly lifted an arm and placed the fuzzy outline of their hand on the glass pane separating them, as if it was begging to be let out.

_Shit._

If whatever was inside was even a fraction bit human, it most likely needed oxygen. From what he saw of the original shipping container, it wasn’t contained in glass. The original prison that kept whatever this was contained and strong was lined in almost a matrix-like plexiglass. Only few in the entire world would have that kind of technology and discretion to bypass even his security. He had a bad feeling that he might know specifically who.

Now, drugs and arms? Jewels and art? The occasional exotic pet? These were his regulars. Keeping the city in check while giving the people what they want, within reason. Humans? Mutants, experiments, aliens? He refused; he was even repulsed. It brought back less than pleasant memories of Sakaar and what he had o do to stay in the good graces of an even greater power than Thanos had been. It’s barely been a year since then and he ran his hands through his shoulder length hair and down his face to rub out the memory. So, in an act of pure kindness he would never admit to, Loki opened a small portal to allow a gush of fresh air to enter the box, closing it before anything could escape through it. The figure visibly heaved in relief, smoke slowly staring to build back up in density and speed once more. What was once a clear outline of a human was now back to a dense cloud filling the entirety of the box.

“Can you hear me?” Loki was sure the glass was not thick or well sealed enough to block out basic sounds. The smoke condensed into the right of the box, a _yes_ , willing and enthusiastic to communicate with someone willing to listen. He had a feeling the being hadn’t been granted that privilege for a while now.

“Can you speak?” The smoke condensed to the left, _no_ , letting out a sound that resembled an industrial vacuum cleaner as proof. Loki winced as it grated his sensitive ears, hands held up to cease the sound. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

“I can’t see shit Reindeer Games, its quite literally a bunch of smoke in a box on my end. I’ll have to come down myself-“

“Iron Man is not making an appearance at _my_ warehouse, Stark. I have a business to run.” Loki glared at the holographic billionaire projected in his office. The two had a mutual understanding and respect: sharing a drink every so often, utilizing resources and connections. Loki wouldn’t dare call Tony Stark a friend, but he didn’t stop the other man from saying so either. He even ended up appreciating _Rock of Ages_ after Stark had got him tickets to see it.

“Killjoy. Fine, I can fly in with the jet tonight; I have a branch office in the city I have to check on anyways.”

Stark blipped out of view as Loki wandered back to the box. He had spent all of the daylight hours asking as many questions he could think of. He couldn’t get enough for a name, but he had enough information to confirm his suspicions. The now-confirmed human was a 20-something local, captured and experimented on in a northern Hydra facility. _She_ was injected an uncountable amount of times with an unknown substance, presumably how she ended up in her current state. The shipping container was destined for a shell corporation in New York City and Loki immediately knew where. During his last “invasion,” Hydra was kind enough to provide him with a base of operations after presenting them with the Tesseract. Playing both fields now meant not telling the Avengers about the base, and not telling Hydra about any super-plans.

One mutant wouldn’t shake that balance.

Loki settled back into the folding chair he had placed in front of the box, casually observing the constant swirling mass that was trapped inside. He could still faintly see the silhouette of the girl, now huddled in a corner with her knees tucked in. Tired and scared. Loki leaned forward, resting his elbows on his own knees and asked her a question he wished so many others had asked him:

“Is it painful?”

She lifted her head slowly, seemingly eyeing him as the clouds in the box drifted to one side: _No._ Almost immediately after, it switched, _yes_?

“It’s ok, I know,” Loki let his head fall and spoke softer now. Nobody knew what it had felt like to be under Thanos’ control like he was, nobody wanted to know. He remembered the numbness of moving, fighting, existing in his body though it was not his own. When he looked up again, she was resting her head on her knees, clouds forgotten. Loki fished his cell out of his pocket and pulled up his chat with Stark to send a quick update.

**RockOfAges:** Bring the fluffy thing I had last time

**TinMan:** Marshmallows? You can buy them in Canada…

**RockOfAges:** Not the ones shaped like small chickens

**TinMan** : You want PEEPS??? I’ll see what I can do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Only recently were Peeps sold in Canada. I'm sure Stark had something to do with that.


	3. Soul Forge

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quarantine Comeback, sorry it's shorter. As always, please comment and kudos!

Hovering around midnight, a polite knock resounded on the double doors of Loki’s office. With the usual hum of affirmation, Tony Stark all but sauntered in with Dex close behind eyeing him with mild suspicion. Stark noticed and held out one of the brown paper bags he was holding, a peace offering to the hulking man at his side.

“For you and the boys, don’t eat them all at once yeah?” Dex spared a brief look to Loki before taking the bag filled with expensive pastries that were too nice to be shoved into such a plain bag. With a wave, he shut the door behind him, leaving Loki and Stark to their business. Loki made no effort to move as he was sitting on his dark leather couch, sipping a generously large glass full of forest green liquid.

“Witch’s brew?” Stark raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow in Loki’s direction as he poured himself a wonderfully aged scotch from Loki’s bar. It was gilded and detailed with brass, little nooks carved out of what must either be an expensive dark wood or an alien import. When stark placed the bottle back on the counter, the wood-like material seemed to melt around it, eventually depositing the container into its designated shelf.

Definitely an alien import.

“Absinthe, actually. I’ve found one thing on this planet that I don’t have to inject to feel a tingle of something,” Loki said as he took another sip. He licked his lips in a way that always reminded Stark of the snakes he associated so famously with. Stark finally moved towards the glass box in the centre of the office. The dark swirling mass had resumed its motion since the new man had walked in, gently swaying to different corners of the box as he casually strolled around it. Loki had updated stark on everything he learned about the girl, yet even Friday was unable to find a shred of actual information on the girl with the short answers he could get out of her.

Maybe because he hadn’t told him  _ everything _ . Stark didn’t have to know about the Hydra bases. Yet.

Ever.

Stark opened his briefcase on the low coffee table in front of Loki’s couch. Inside was a portable hub for Friday and all associated gear for testing whatever was in the box. A dim blue glow started to rise out of the case as several mini drones flew out and settled in the air around the perimeter of the box. The swirling mass was visibly threatened and the box started to shake, a fair warning of her displeasure of being poked and prodded.

“It’s alright, we won’t harm you,” Loki said calmly as he set his glass down. He sat up and tossed one of the marshmallow candies gently up in the air, opening up a portal for it to fall into the glass box as an offering. Before she could reach out to receive it, the dark swirling fog engulfed the Peep and instantly scattered fragments of marshmallow on the walls around her. Loki gave a grimace as an "oops" and raised his palm in a "my bad" kind of way. Stark took a cautionary few steps back.

"I'm sure you'll be perfectly safe, Tin Man. You're the one of the Earth's Mightiest Defenders, are you not?" Loki stood to place his now empty glass back onto the bar, adding an edge of playful vitriol to the Avengers' title.

“She just Ninja-blendered two whole men. And a Peep. I think I'm good over here thanks," was Starks reply, edging slowly towards the opposite wall. He motioned over a holo-controller, commanding the drones to playback the events in slow-motion. Stark started to run basic tests on the footage, superimposing the results over the actual specimen. "Just got these babies out of the R&D Lab. They transfer molecular energy from one place to another and so-"

"You made a Soul Forge," Loki said as he casually unlocked the bar cabinet to retrieve a few dusty tomes. He wasn't one too rely solely on Midguardian technology. No matter how advanced, most mortals were unable to sense - let alone harness - energies of their realm.

"It's a quantum field generator." Stark crossed his arms in defense of his 'new' creation. He wouldn’t admit that he had hounded Thor for years for every detail of Asgardian technologies.

"Does it allow you to see the energy that flows through something?" Flipping through the the yellowed pages of, Loki didn’t raise his eyes as he concentrated through reading a set of useful spells for their situation.

"Yes, but-"

"Soul Forge." Loki shut the spellbook with one hand, waving away the marshmallow mess in the box with the other. Before Stark had a moment to snap back at the god, he realized something in the results on his data projections. He replayed the footage once more as the dots began connecting in front of him. Beckoning Loki over, he zoomed in to the remnants of the marshmallow on the floor of the box. The messy lump was composed of entirely inorganic compounds, while the splatters on the wall were sugary organics.

“I’m never eating a Peep again, but it looks like it’s the same deal from your workers last night,” Stark pulled up the footage from the stockyards and found the steel toes of boots, some clothing, and even a plastic implant survived the massacre. “Looks like her cloudy friend only eats organic. You’re eco-friendly sweetheart.”

He then focused on the furious dark storm as it slowed to a calm breeze in the projection. Zooming in on a particularly dense area, the cloud-like formations were actually made of intricate black filaments that were in constant motion, kept together by flecks of a bright shining substance. Loki took over on the analysis,already learned the rudimentary controls as he took a step back when a confirmed match popped up in a bright blue notification.

Gold. Asgardian gold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone see the Thor 2 reference?


End file.
